Maybe it will help people to try the game if you mention in advance what original game it imitates? Or would that invalidate the data of the experiment? Or, would even saying if that is the case invalidate the data of the experiment? (Science is fun! :P)

The game isn't really imitating any existing game - at least not intentionally. Sure you will probably find at least a dozen games that are quite close to it, but the design process of it basically started from a scratch, from research point of view.

The data may or may not be invalidated by certain factors which do not exist. And even if they would exist, I would not be allowed to discuss about such factors. :P

Haha, wow! I've never seen that game before, but the game mechanics does seem almost identical. Someone in research comments also mentioned that the game reminded him about Joust.

My aim was to make a stereotypical arcade game, one that is easy for everyone (not has HC players) to recognize as a game. I also wanted to use animation to display some info about the player state. I eventually came up with an idea of the paddling/copter speed, which is rather vital since you can't command the PC to go downwards.

It's very hard these days to make games that "don't already exist", but the more simple your core idea is, the easier the similarities are to spot, I guess. Thanks for bringing this up, in any case.

In my opinion, the game seems original enough, as the context and level design are different. Otherwise every side-scrolling platformer would have to reference every other side-scrolling platformer, which would fill an encyclopedia. I do know that most researchers have to cite papers that contain similar studies/work though, so it would still be a good idea to include a paragraph or page discussing other games that use similar mechanics.

I'm learning game testing.The testing is about game usability, and I need your help with the research! Play the game and take the survey following it. It will only take up to 5 minutes of your time and it will be a huge help for me.
Helping science by just playing a game - could it be any easier (or any more fun)!